All posts by Mike

Nice 4th of July ride. Good test for France!

Ride reports (not Tu/Th)

Interesting test today, doing tough climbs the day after the usual Tuesday-morning ride. That by itself would be no big deal, but this was a bit of a test, since it’s just 3 days/week that I’m on the lighter dose (1000mg) of the drug that shuts down my bone marrow’s production of platelets *and* as an unfortunate side-effect, red blood cells. I time those three “light” days to coincide with Tuesdays, Thursdays & Sundays, when I do my “real” rides. The rest of the days I’m on a 1500mg dose, and I can definitely tell the difference. Well, today was a 1500mg day, and it really didn’t go that badly.

It was myself plus the two Kevins, leaving at the civilized hour of 10am. Not a very long ride, but Kevin’s (the kid) favorite- up Old LaHonda, followed by West Alpine. He really loves West Alpine. Me? Yeah, well, whatever. Older Kevin (pilot) and I rode together up Old LaHonda while Kevin charged on ahead, arriving about 3 minutes ahead of us. Hey, at least the same day, right? West Alpine followed a similar scenario, until Kevin (pilot) and I caught up with a guy from Israel who was out there with a friend. When we came by, his speed suddenly changed, and I was just hanging on for life, while the other two chatted away. In the photo above you can see them getting away, near the top, but I did manage to close the gap shortly after.

One thing still needed, prior to France. Some *hot* weather. I don’t think I can count on the moderate temps we’ve had so far this year!

It’s time. Seriously. July should mean no more leg warmers & base layers!

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

The 2 Kevin’s chatting on Skyline
It’s July 3rd, a good full week into summer, just 4 days before the start of the Tour de France. We shouldn’t have to be wearing leg warmers & base layers, right? But if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s dress appropriately for a ride, and this morning, we would have been in trouble without the colder-weather gear. It would be nice if there was a webcam up on Skyline we could check before riding, but it’s really not needed; from my kitchen window I’ve got a view of Skyline near Page Mill, and if I can see even a hint of our infamous “marine layer” when I’m making coffee at 6:58am, I know what I have to do.

Younger Kevin was definitely feeling better this morning than either older Kevin (pilot) or me. Or should “me” have been “I” at the end of that sentence? Tried looking it up and still confused. So much for taking advanced placement English in high school! But the point remains; the kid was doing better than the older guys. I’ll admit that I was the worst of the older guys though; Kevin (pilot) was well ahead of me on Kings, trying to keep pace with the other Kevin (kid), but dropped back to keep me company.

It is a bit frustrating, riding more slowly than I did two weeks ago, but all the smoke in the air may have something to do with it. I started feeling it in my lungs after Sunday’s ride, and had a bit of a sore throat all day yesterday. Much better tonight though. We’ll see how I do tomorrow on West Alpine (Kevin’s favorite).